Aura Rising
by Mr Ymous
Summary: Aura Guardians forced out in ancient times due to a new power rising, fearing they will take over with the aura. Cause them to become outcast and launch a Guerrilla Campaign against the New World Council. Follows a 17 year old Aura Guardian.
1. Chapter 1

The Aura Guardian: A human who can manipulate the power of Aura in their body at their will. Trained in protecting Pokémon and Humans alike from the tides of war and strife, and fulfilling their duty of protecting the earth so that all may enjoy its beauty, they are a rarity amongst men and women. There are many different strengths of Aura in every human; however, the Aura Guardian exceeds the average level by a large amount, the Aura pretty much almost bursting out of them.

All Aura Guardians can use Aura in all the ways possible. However, they also specialise in areas of expertise. For example, one may use their Aura more in Healing, whilst another may use it more in power of combat. Another might use it for Agility and speed, whilst another for defence and stamina. Naturally, in each Aura Cult, there would be at least one of each user.

The Aura Cults are normally found in each major city in each Region, Protecting those within their reach. Each Cult works with the others in the region, and as there is in the Military, there are small rivalries between some cults. This however, is always put aside in times of need.

This system had worked since man had walked the earth. Many Humans who did not have this power believed that the Alpha Pokémon Arceus put them on the earth to keep the balance of nature in check whilst it fell into an eternal sleep. There were a few who feared that they would turn against their fellow humans and purge them. There were many who believed they were Guardian Angels for the Human and Pokémon races.

This continued until after the Great War, where the Aura Guardians did their best to bring back peace, only for Sir Aaron, the Legendary Leader of all Aura Guardians, sacrificing himself to the tree of beginning to calm the aggression down to peace once more. But no sooner had the war ceased to be, a new threat arose from the ashes.

A group of people began to manipulate the Governments of the regions. They seemed harmless at first, merely improving society as they progressed up the Hierarchy. The Aura Council, which was still without a leader, deemed it worthless to monitor the groups actions too closely. It was only when they reached the top of the ladder did the Group show its true colours.

The leaders of the Regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh created an alliance, forming one ruling body for all four regions known as the New World Council. As soon as this happened, the Aura Council began to grow nervous. The panic only grew so when they found that the New World Council was starting to dirty the Guardian way, calling it 'Witchcraft' and blaming the Great War starting because they 'saw themselves as gods and the normal Humans as a slave race which could be their toys.' Uprisings soon followed, where several Aura Cults were forced out of major cities and strategic points over all four regions.

Pretty soon the New World Order sent an army to the Aura Council Stronghold in the Ancient Saffron City. The Council and the Aura Cults fled, and the New World order saw it as a defeat. The Aura Council broke up, each member joining an Aura Cult, and leading them to remote areas around the Regions. The most veteran of the Cults left to guard the shrines of the Legends, whilst the many others settled in the mountains between Johto and Kanto, as well as the Mountain range of Sinnoh. Others took to the thick forests and jungles of their native Regions, setting up Guerrilla campaigns against the New World Council. The New World Council tried to purge the forests of the Guardians, but to no avail. Each time they seemed to close down on one camp, several raids on lookout posts or strong points would happen nowhere near the originally thought base.

The Raids were all the Guardians could to keep checking up on their plans and movements, as well as attempting to keep nature in balance. There had been several natural disasters since the crumbling of the Aura Council, as if the legends themselves were outraged that the connection between the Humans, Pokémon and Nature had been broken. The Ruling of the New World Council continued for many years, growing in power and earning the trust of the people, turning them against the Aura Guardians. Only a few remote villages continued to aid them in their quests as major towns were lost. The Aura Guardians looked doomed to fade from history. This is where our story begins.


	2. Chapter 2

"Xan, Wake up!" A gruff voice called out. Xan rolled over in his hammock and tried to ignore the poking in his side.

"Another five minutes," He grunted, not opening his eyes. The poking stopped, and Xan smiled to himself. For once, he thought, it had worked. How wrong he was. Soon he landed on the earthy floor with a nasty thud as he was tipped form his Hammock. He opened one ice blue eye, and then the other, getting use to the bright daylight that was streaming into the little wood and leaf shelter that was his home. He looked at who had tipped him out of bed to see a very tall and muscular man standing there. Xan staggered to his feet, brushing dirt out of his long, messy brown hair.

"Xan, you need to learn to get out of bed and to training quicker," The man said in a deep voice, his small dark eyes glinting with humour at the sight of the teenager in front of him, dressed in nothing but some sleeping trousers, "This is the last tutorial session before the exam tomorrow."

Xan stretched and let out a long and loud yawn. He had forgotten all about the exam tomorrow. The words Exam and Tomorrow slowly worked their way into his mind. After a few seconds, he realised what the man had just said.

"The Exam is tomorrow?" Xan exclaimed, "I'll be ready for my training soon teacher." The man nodded silently and left the shelter.

"I'll be waiting for you in the centre," his deep voice boomed from outside. Xan quickly changed out from his sleeping trousers and pulled on a set of dark blue trousers and brown boots, with a black shirt and Brown leather chest piece. He tried to organise the mess which was his hair so that it roughly all pointed down, rather than up at odd angles, and then went over to the far corner of the shelter.

"Infernape, Lucario," Xan called out, "We have some training to do. Let's go!" There was a shuffling sound as the Fire Monkey sat up and ignited the flame on his head, rubbing his eyes. Lucario was sitting in a meditation position in the corner, and opened an eye to look at Xan with its normal emotionless stare. Soon the two Pokémon were following Xan out of his hut and into the clearing in the forest.

It wasn't a large clearing, about a house length across, and it only had grass in the middle. All around the clearing hidden in the undergrowth and trees were a few huts made of wood and leaves, all facing the clearing. There were several people already in the clearing, along with a few Pokémon. Xan walked over to the middle of the clearing where there were two other teenagers. One of them had messy, black hair and green eyes, with a small build but rather toned body. The other was a rather attractive female with blonde hair with sky blue eyes and slender body.

"At last, Xan arrives," The black haired boy said, turning around when he heard Xans footsteps, "I hope you're not like this tomorrow, what with the exam and all."

"I won't be, Antonio," Xan said, "Or should that be Ant?"

"Very funny Xan," Antonio said, raising an eyebrow, "At least I don't sleep in."

"Oh, cut him some slack," the blonde hair girl said, pushing Antonio lightly on the shoulder, "The thing that matters is that Xan is here now."

"Thank you Elizabeth," Xan said.

"Xan, we've been over this before, I prefer Liz now," she said, smiling kindly at him.

"Alright, Liz," Xan said, smiling back, "Where are Sceptile and Ninetails?" He looked around. As far as he could tell, he was the only one of the three of them who had his Pokémon with him.

"They should be here soon," Liz said, looking over toward her hut, "You know Ninetails, never showing herself until she has cleaned herself.

"What about your Pikachu and Gallade?" Xan asked Antonio.

"Pikachu is on his way," Antonio rolled his eyes, "and Gallade is doing some training over there," he pointed to a tree that was shaking slightly every few seconds.

"Well, he better be here soon, or we will have to start without him." The deep voice of the teacher said from behind them. The three turned and saw him standing there, with a large Staraptor and Blaziken behind him. Soon all of the Pokémon were standing behind their respective partners.

"Alright," the teacher began, "Since this is the last session before the exam, I thought we would go over the areas that the Exam will test you in; Speed, Skill, Strength and Stamina in both Aura and weapon skills, as well as Pokémon combat. If you fail any one of these areas, you shall not be accepted as an Aura Guardian, and will not be able to participate in any campaigns or missions until you pass the exam. Are we clear on this?" The three teenagers and their Pokémon nodded at this.

"Excellent," the teacher said, clapping his hands together, "We shall begin with Stamina first. I want you all to run to the river to the south, follow it to the Big Oak, where you will climb it to the top, and then make your way to the stone pile via the trees. Once you reach the stone piles, you shall climb the cliff face that is there, and then return back here. I am giving you a time limit of an hour and a half. Go." He said as he turned over an hour glass. The three teens looked at each other and began to jog out of the clearing, their Pokémon in tow.

The Teacher watched the three leave, a sense of strong pride growing inside him. He had watched the three grow up from when they were babies. When they were born, he had sensed strong Auras in them, and it had only grown with time. Of all the Guardians here, those three had the greatest Auras around. He had taken them into training from an early age, and they had grown with the skills, excelling in each area.

There had been one thing that had concerned him however, and that was that they did not seem to show a greater ease with a certain field of the Aura. They were equal in aspects. The man put the thoughts to the side as he knew that the three would all pass the test with flying colours tomorrow.

"Do you think they are ready?" a quiet voice asked behind him. The man didn't need to see who he was; the Aura he was giving off told him everything.

"I believe so, Councillor Stone," The man said, not taking his eyes off where the trio and their Pokémon had disappeared, "I believe they will all be a great help to our cause."

"I've never seen you look this happy with any selection of students before Symon," Stone said, now standing next to him, his grey, short neat hair shining in the morning sun, and his grey eyes glinting with humour, his grey cloak billowing slightly as he moved forward, "Your aura pulses with pride for these three."

"They have the strongest Aura I have ever seen," Symon replied, crossing his arms, "They learn everything quickly. They even earned the trust of their Pokémon with exceptional speed. It took me years before my two chose me to be their master, yet they managed it in two days."

Stone chuckled softly. "Ah yes, they do seem to have a good control on their Aura don't they."

"I would go to say a greater manipulation of their Aura than I have on my own," Symon sighed, stroking his Staraptor under its beak, "Well, if you will excuse me Councillor Stone, I must make sure they are actually doing as they're told for once."

"Of course," Stone chuckled, "The troublesome Trio shall always be so." and with that, Symon laughed a little whilst jumping onto his Staraptors back. The Bird Pokémon took flight, and headed South, with Blaziken bounding along behind it.

"I hope for everyone's sakes they are ready," Stone muttered before pulling up the hood on his cloak and walking out of the clearing.


	3. Chapter 3

Xan once again repelled the Bone Rush Lucario was using against him, using his Aura to protect his arms and hands as he deflected each swing Lucario took at him. When Lucario was spent, he jumped away from Xan, his cold gaze never leaving him. Xan was painting heavily, his Aura feeling drained from all the tasks the Teacher had set that day.

Lucario charged up an Aura sphere, and Xan sighed reluctantly as he once again got into an offensive stance. Lucario fired the Aura sphere, and with the aura focused mainly in his legs, Xan leapt to the side with speed and grace, and started to run as soon as his feet hit the floor. Lucario hardly had time to react as Xan dive-tackled him to the floor, rolled and pulled out a dagger, and held it to the Pokémon's throat.

"Very good," Symons voice boomed through the clearing, "you have beaten your own personal record as well Xan." Xan sheathed his dagger and pulled Lucario to his feet.

"Hey buddy, you alright?"

"I'm fine," Lucario mumbled, using his Aura to communicate, "I just didn't see the speed of that last attack. I should have been more wary master."

"Buddy, it's fine," Xan replied, walking over to where Antonio and Liz were sitting with their own Pokémon, "Antonio, your turn," Xan grinned as he sat down the other side of Liz. Antonio groaned and pulled himself to his feet.

"Why do I have to?" he muttered, "I feel so dead already." And with that, He and his Gallade and Pikachu shuffled onto the field.

"I swear he's getting worse than you," Liz said as Antonio began the mock fight with Pikachu, giving Xan a smirking sideways glance.

"So what if he is?" Xan replied, looking around to try and find Infernape as Lucario settled into a meditation position next to him, "Just means I have another weapon to use against him."

"Maybe," Liz said, looking back to watch Antonio shielding himself against a thunderbolt from his Pikachu. The two remained silent as Xan continued to look around for Infernape. He hadn't seen him since he had managed to finally dodge the rather powerful Mach punch he had thrown at him, and getting him into a Headlock, signalling the end of the mock fight.

"I'm sure he's fine master," Lucario said from next to him, "I know he is rather competitive, but you must remind yourself, he is also a rather large jokester, so he'll get over it quickly."

"I just hope he gets over it soon," Xan mumbled to Lucario, "We have the exam tomorrow, and I want to pass it first time."

"We'll do fine," Lucario said, watching as Antonio now moved onto fighting Gallade after he had managed to absorb Pikachu's thunder and send it back at him. Antonio was now fending off each swipe of Gallade's extended elbows.

"Xan, are you alright?" Liz asked, and Xan realised that she had been trying to ask him a question.

"Huh? What?" Xan said; look around at Liz, with Lucario chuckling softly to himself. Xan ignored this, "Sorry, I was talking to Lucario. What was it you wanted to ask?"

"Do you think we're actually ready for this exam?" Liz asked, and Xan could see some fear etched in her eyes. Although she never let her emotions show on the surface, her eyes always betrayed her true feelings.

"I believe we are," Xan said, grinning, "I mean remember when we couldn't do any of this stuff?"

Liz smiled, "Yeah, it was so long ago now. I remember the first time you tried to summon an Aura Sphere. It exploded in your face. The look on your face was priceless."

"Not as bad as when Antonio was trying to summon the shield," Xan said, remembering back to about the same time, when they were about eight years of age, "Remember he managed it, and then it just blew outwards, leaving a smoking Antonio once the dust had cleared."

"Oh, those were the days," Liz said, looking back to watch Antonio. Xan turned to watch as well. Antonio was now on the offensive, spinning out with his sword, causing Gallade to put on a defensive front.

"Alright, that's enough," the teacher yelled, and Antonio fell onto the floor, panting and out of breath. Gallade and Pikachu ran over to him, concerned. They helped him up and they walked over to the place where Liz and Xan were sitting.

"Alright Liz, show us what you can do," Antonio said, grinning slightly, his Green eyes sparkling with determination from his mock fight. Liz smiled nervously at Xan and Antonio as she walked out with her Ninetails and Sceptile. She began the mock fight with Sceptile, using her shield to absorb the grass Pokémon's attacks.

"That was some awesome moves you were pulling," Xan said to Antonio as his breath began to return to him, "I mean, being able to counter with that much strength after taking that mean hits, it's like you're a Torrtera!"

"Ah, it's all in the Aura," Antonio grunted as he sat upright, nursing his forearms which he had coated in Aura to help him fend of Gallade's attacks, "You were pretty impressive yourself, what with using that speed and Agility to outsmarting Infernape and Lucario like that."

"It was pretty difficult to," Xan said quickly as he felt Lucario flex slightly next to him, "I mean, you can't really outsmart these two with ease. Lucario has the mind for the Counters, whilst Infernape just dances out of the way."

"Did someone mention me?" a voice said, and Infernape suddenly appeared in front of them, landing on all fours, absorbing the energy form the landing.

"Where have you been?" Xan questioned. Infernape smiled his cheeky smile.

"Oh, here and there," he said, sitting down next to Lucario, "Oh, and if any Breloom come asking if I'm the Infernape that was messing with their fruit, I have been here all this time."

"Wow, sound like Infernape has been the joker once again," Antonio muttered to Xan. His Gallade gave a disapproving look at the fire monkey, whilst Pikachu just shook its head with an exasperated smile on its face.

"Tell me about it," Xan muttered, watching Liz manage to cause Sceptile to back down with an impressive pulse of Aura. Ninetails took his place, her nine tails fluffed out, a growl etched upon her face, the red eyes blazing. Xan had never seen the Pokémon look that pumped up. She threw a flamethrower towards Liz, who blocked it, absorbing the power slowly.

"Well, that's not going to end well for Ninetails," Xan muttered, watching the blue shield slowly turning red.

"Well, it depends whether Liz can handle the heat or not," Antonio remarked, "Knowing those two, it's going to be a long standoff."

"Well, that's one match up I don't want to get caught up in," Xan said, but then a loud roar filled the air. Xan and Antonio turned around and looked up as a shadow covered the clearing. Even Ninetails and Liz stopped fighting to look up. There were three Pokémon, a Salamance, a Garchomp and a large Dragonite, all of them with a person on each. They landed in the clearing, and the three people stepped off them. The two men were tall and Muscular, with battle scared faces and arms, dressed in cloaks with hoods, which hid their eyes and Hair. The third was a female, shorter than the two men, but something about her Aura commanded a sense of respect, the same amount as the two men stood next to her.

"Antonio, isn't that," Xan started, but he didn't need to finish his sentence.

"Yeah, it is," Antonio said, "It's the Aura Cult Alpha. The most well respected and feared Aura Cult there is. Only the best make it to the Alpha Cult. I hear after the great Purge there have only ever been three people in that Cult ever since."

"Then what are they doing here?" Xan asked, "Last I heard from Teacher was that they were on a communication mission with the camps in Sinnoh."

"I heard they were on a dangerous raid at one of the Shrines in Hoenn," Liz said, coming up behind Xan and Antonio, "They managed to take back the Shrine from the New World Council forces by themselves; three against fifty."

"That's rubbish," Antonio said, "I heard that the one standing on the left, Alexander, He was on a lone recon mission into the heart of Saffron City, right in the heart of the New World Council Headquarters whilst Aqua, the small one, was battling with a legendary, whilst Arthur, the one to the right, was leading a raid on one of the strong holds near Mount Silver."

"Still, putting the stories aside," Xan said, cutting across Antonio, "What are they doing here?"

"They are here to Examine you," the deep voice of Symon cut through their conversation from behind, causing everyone to jump.

"You mean, were' gonna be judged by the Alpha Cult?" Antonio asked disbelief in his voice.

"Yes, Antonio, and you better stop drooling over them as well," Symon said with a small chuckle, "They're not gods you know, and they don't like being treated as them either. Now go rest up you three; tomorrow is going to be a long one."


	4. Chapter 4

"This is the day you have been waiting for," Symon's voice boomed around the clearing. "These three have been learning the ways of the aura guardians, and are now ready to take the final exam. Passing of this exam will give them the title of Aura Guardian, and they shall be assigned to their Cults to continue to try to protect the balance of nature. However, if they fail, they must take the exam again at a later date."

Symon turned his gaze to the three 18 year olds in front of him, their Pokémon by their sides, all staring at him, excitement and determination glinting in their eyes. There was a small crowd of the other Aura Guardians that lived around the clearing behind them, there to show their support to the three teenagers who had been in their care since they were born.

"Here to examine you," Symon continued, "Are the Alpha Cult. The members Alexander, Aqua and Arthur, will test you on your skills in using Aura, as well as your team work with your Chosen Pokémon." He stepped out of the way of the three adults as they stepped up the teenagers. They still had the same cloaks on as when they had arrived yesterday, the hoods up, obscuring their faces. Xan, Antonio and Liz all looked into the shadowed faces, a sense of fear starting to snake up their spine.

"Elizabeth, you shall be examined by Aqua," Symon continued, "She is of the Range class, excelling in using her Aura from afar. She also has the skill of being able to manipulate other Auras around her, getting them to do her bidding." Liz looked at Aqua. She was shorter than the two men, but she looked just as scary as them. _This is going to be tough_.

"Antonio, you shall be examined by Arthur," The tallest and bulkiest of the two men stepped forward in front of Antonio, towering over him. Antonio gulped loudly, "Arthur is of the Warrior class, excelling in using his aura for strength and weapon handling."

"And Finally, Xan," Symon said, looking at him, "You shall be examined by Alexander. He is of the Assassin class, excelling in using his Aura for speed and acrobatic moves." The last cloaked person standing in front of the teenagers stepped in front of Xan. Xan looked into the shadows, but didn't see any details, or any emotions. His Pokémon behind him stood defiant, not backing down from the commanding Aura around this figure.

"After the exam, the Examiners shall report to Councillor Stone, and they shall decide whether you pass, or fail. Good luck to you all."

The teenagers looked at each other as their respective examiners turned on their heels and walked in different directions out of the clearing to the cheering crowd.

"Good luck guys," Xan said, putting his hand out. Antonio and Liz reached out to shake it, but as soon as they were about to make contact, there was the sound of an explosion from the south, and the trees shuddered as the wind caused by the blast swept through the clearing, kicking up dust.

"What the hell?" Antonio yelled as he shielded his eyes with his arm, coughing as the dust went into his lungs. Everyone in the clearing were covering their eyes and coughing. Xan closed his eyes and activated his Aura, seeing the world in a blue haze, and seeing everyone's aura. It wasn't as good as actually looking through his eyes, but it was better than being blinded by the dust. He pulled out a black piece of cloth from his pocket and tied it around his mouth to prevent the dust from clogging up his lungs.

"Antonio, Liz," Xan called out, spinning around. In his Aura vision, he saw others activating their Aura with a small pulse of white light, "Where are you guys?" Suddenly there were two shapes in front of him. He recognised them as Infernape and Lucario, Infernape was coughing with the dust in the air whilst Lucario remained unaffected.

"Lucario, Infernape, we need to clear the air," Xan said to them through his bandana, "Lucario, see if you can use your Aura pulse. I know it's a new move we've been trying, but this would be a good time to practice," He saw Lucario's Aura start to glow white as he concentrated his energy into the centre of it, "Infernape, I need you to try and get everyone on the floor." Infernape nodded and jumped away, literally tackling people to the ground.

"Xan?" Antonio's voice called out across the clearing, "Where are you?"

"Over here, by Lucario," Xan called out, "He's about to clear the dust. Get down on the floor." I glanced a look at Lucario's Aura. It was glowing pure white, indicating he was ready to release it.

"Alright Lucario," Xan said as he dived to the floor, "Release it!"

Lucario gave a roar as the Aura Energy blasted out of his body, causing a shockwave to blast out, shifting the dust in the air out of the clearing. Xan felt himself slide across the ground with the force, but it passed quickly. He opened his eyes to see the air as clear as it was before.

"Antonio, Liz," Xan called out, as he helped people up off the ground, "Where the hell are you guys?"

"Here," Antonio and Liz called out in unison as they came over to Xan, helping people as they went, "What was that explosion?"

"No idea," Xan said, looking to the south to see smoke rising into the air, "But it came from over there."

"Do you recon our exam will still be going on?" Liz asked, as her two Pokémon came up to her, covered in dust.

"Well, I'd assume so," Antonio muttered, brushing dust off himself, Pikachu and Gallade, "Maybe this is part of the exam?"

"Bit dramatic isn't it?" Xan asked, looking at Antonio, "Don't really need the dust in the clearing to set the mood, they could of just given us a briefing."

"Urm, I don't think it's an Exam," Liz said, looking into the sky. Xan and Antonio followed her gaze.

"Oh shit." Antonio muttered under his breath. In the sky above them were fifty Charizard, all of them with New World Council soldiers on their backs, and engaged in a mid air battle with the Alpha Cult.

"What do we do?" Liz asked, turning her fear filled eyes to Antonio and Xan

"Just like the drill we practice," Xan said, "We evacuate everyone to the nearest camp. Alpha cult are buying us time, we need to move."

Antonio and Liz nodded, and they split off to different ends of the clearing, telling everyone to head north toward the Silver Mountain Range. Xan went to the south of the clearing and took a fighting stance, alert for the approach of any foot soldiers that might be approaching. Infernape and Lucario followed suit, eyeing the forest, watching for any movement.

"Xan," A deep voice bellowed over the commotion of evacuation in the clearing, "We're moving out, stay there as long as you can,"

"Yes Teacher," Xan called out. Suddenly Lucario flared up his Aura and shot an Aura Sphere into the forest. Xan heard it meet its target with an explosion and a cry of pain as the soldier was knocked out.

"Damn it," Xan muttered, as he fired up his own aura, his senses becoming super tuned, and he felt his strength increase as it spread over his body. Infernape let out a battle cry as it leapt forward with a glowing mach punch and landed the blow on another New World Council Soldier, causing the man to yelp with pain and fly back ten feet, slumping to the ground, knocked out cold. Xan drew out his dagger and pushed forward with Aura, flying toward the army that was now advancing through the forest toward the clearing.

Xan charged into a soldier and with the energy created by his fast speed the soldier when hurtling backwards into a tree, slumping to the ground, out cold. Lucario was using bone rush as a staff, blocking swings from swords and hitting the soldiers back. Infernape was dancing through the tree tops, occasionally landing a close combat on soldiers and then going back to the tree tops to use flame thrower. Xan was using his speed to 'appear' in front of soldiers, hit them with an Aura charged punch, then 'Disappear' as he sped toward his text target.

"Xan!" He heard a male voice call out as he stopped in front of a soldier, whose eyes widened behind his helmet. Xan grinned a mischievous grin, and then thrust his palm into the man's chest armour. The man was thrown back, carried by a shockwave coming from Xan's palm, carrying him back ten feet. He turned to see Antonio charging his way into the fray, holding his sword above his head, his Gallade and Pikachu charging along behind him. Xan used his Aura to appear in front of his next target, who tried to take a swing at him. Xan grinned and then used the Aura to appear behind the man. He continued to tire out the soldier in this manner for a few seconds, appearing in a different spot as soon as the soldier took a swing with his sword. Soon Antonio was at the soldier, and used his Aura to lift the man up and throw him into the nearest rock. There was a crack as he landed, and he was out for the count.

"Antonio, what you doing here?" Xan asked as he fended off another soldier with his dagger held back hand.

"The others have managed to get away," Antonio grunted as he used his sword to get a soldiers sword stuck in the ground, followed by a brisk punch to the helmet covered face. The man flew back, out cold, "Alpha have managed to fend off the Air attack, and should be helping us soon."

"What about Liz?" Xan yelled as he held his palm up and fired another shockwave of Aura from it, causing the charging soldiers to fly backwards

"I'm right here," a female voice called from above him, and he looked up to see Liz riding on the back of her Sceptile as it charged through the trees toward the army. She leapt off its back, landing with her fist hitting the ground. A blue ripple of energy shot from her fist across the ground, knocking the soldiers within range to the floor, "Sorry guys, I got a bit hung up back there."

"About time you showed up," Antonio grunted as he kicked another soldier back, "What's with the Alpha Cult, I thought they'd be here by now?"

"Maybe," Xan said, as he used his dagger to disarm his opponent, and then with a Aura powered upper-cut, send him flying into the branches only for Infernape to use a mach punch into the guy's stomach to send him straight back down to earth, causing him to land on some more advancing soldiers, knocking them all out of the fight, "They're testing us on our fighting skills."

"Would make sense," Liz said as she sent out a shockwave of Aura from her palm, causing a few of the soldiers to freeze in their tracks. She did a backwards summersault as Ninetails appeared where Liz was once standing and used flamethrower on the frozen targets. Liz landed behind Ninetails and turned to face Xan and Antonio, "Would also explain why they aren't in a rush to get here."

"Great," Antonio muttered as he picked up a soldier and threw him into the air. Pikachu shocked him, and Gallade then used a well placed Psycho Cut to send the man flying away. Xan used his speed to dodge around another soldier and grab his sword hand. Lucario then charged in and used close combat on him, finishing with a well placed force palm.

"They just keep coming!" Antonio moaned as another wave of attackers charged towards the group. Liz, Antonio and Xan all took up their aggressive stances, when multiple roars from above the tree line signalled the Arrival of the Alpha Cult.

"Alright Kids, we'll take them from here," Arthur yelled, as he jumped off his Salamance and landed in front of Antonio, his massive Claymore Sword raised in both hands, his large muscular obscuring Antonio's view of the advancing soldiers.

"But," Antonio began, but Aqua and Alexander landed in front of the group, weapons out.

"You've done good here," Aqua said calmly to them, "Get back to the others. We shall be with you shortly."

"What about our exam?" Xan asked, knowing very well it was the wrong time to ask.

"We'll talk about that later," Alexander said, as he dropped his hood to reveal short blonde hair and deep grey-blue eyes, "Now return to the others, you will need to lead them to the second position."

"Come on Xan, Antonio," Liz muttered, pulling on their sleeves, "We need to do as they say." Xan sighed and turned to go, signalling to Lucario and Infernape to follow them. Antonio, Pikachu and Gallade remained where they were, glaring at the back of Arthurs long brown haired head.

"Antonio!" Xan called out. Antonio seemed to snap out of the angered trance he was in, and followed them back out to the clearing, where they crossed it, heading North to catch up with the others.


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay people, settle down," the booming voice of Symon washed across them all. Xan, Liz and Antonio arrived at the river bank where the Guardians from the camp had gathered. "We have our plan to stick to; following this river north for a few hours and get to the Main stronghold." There were mutterings from the crowd as they started to follow the river north. Xan, Antonio and Liz remained at the back of the group, looking out for any stragglers or surprise attacks.

"I swear the attacks are getting closer and closer to the stronghold of Indigo," Liz said worried. Ninetales picked up on her worried feelings and nuzzled her gently.

"The Indigo Stronghold is one of the most well defended strongholds we have control over," Antonio said, his Pikachu resting on his shoulder, "We're going to be in the safest place for guardians, and if the New World Council attacks, we always have the Shrines to fall back to in the other Regions."

"But what if they all disappear too?" Liz said, starting to sound tearful, "Look at the facts Antonio; the raids on our camps have been getting more and more frequent. We are losing more and more ground, and slowly being backed into a corner. I remember when we used to control about fifty strongholds in Kanto, and now look. We are down to five strongholds, just five! And they are at the very edge of the region!"

"Yeah, but we still have the other regions to escape to," Antonio began, but Liz cut across him.

"Haven't you been listening to the news coming in at all?" She hissed, "We're losing ground everywhere! The Shrines are the only strong holds we have left in Hoenn, and in Sinnoh they are only just keeping the New World Council out of the Mountains."

"Look," Xan sighed, "Can we just focus at one thing at a time? We'll deal with an attack on the stronghold and the escape plan when it's actually under attack, but for now, we need to actually get there." Lucario and Infernape were either side of Xan and both rolled their eyes.

"Xan does have a point," Antonio said, giving Liz a playful push on the arm, "You need to lighten up."

"No, you need to face the truth of the matter," Liz retorted, giving him a light push back. Xan wondered how Antonio was going to take this. With Antonio always being the Optimistic one but serious and seeing aggression in everything, and Liz the Pessimistic yet light hearted and comforting, arguments were never too far away. Xan had resorted to being the peace keeper, and only intervening when things began to get out of hand. Xan rolled his eyes and focused on the group of fifty Aura Guardians moving ahead of them, toward the Indigo Stronghold at the entrance to the Silver Mountain Range Valley.

Liz and Antonio continued their argument for a good hour, standing either side of Xan. Xan just hung his head on kept on walking, thinking about what Liz had said. True, the Aura Guardians had been losing a lot of territory recently due to the increase on raids on camps, but that was to expected, with the number of years since the Guerrilla campaign had been in operation, they were bound to narrow down the areas with a camps in them. The trick now was to keep moving, but the Aura Council in all their wisdom were taking their time with the decision of the next phase of the campaign.

"Hey," Xan voiced suddenly, causing Liz and Antonio to stop their argument which had resorted to a barrage of do not's and do too's, "When is the next Aura Council Meeting?"

"Not for another few months," Liz replied, "Why?"

"Well, if we pass this exam, Don't we have to go to it so the Council can give us our official Cult postings?"

"Wow," Antonio said, slapping his fore-head, "I'd forgotten about that,"

"Like you forget a lot of things," Liz muttered under her breath. Antonio gave her a hard, cold stare and Xan just rolled his eyes. Sure they were all friends, but this bickering had become worse over the past year.

"Says the woman who forgot where the river was," Antonio shot back at her. Xan quickly put his hands up between the two and activated an Aura shield in both palms, preventing the two from passing through and attacking each other.

"Will you two calm down!" Xan said, giving a cold stare to both of them with his Ice blue eyes, causing both of them to shrink back slightly, "I do not what to have to have this shield up the rest of the way, or I'll get Lucario and Infernape to kick you butts back to the old camp!"

Liz and Antonio shot each other cold stares, but didn't argue any more. Xan let the shields go down and kept on walking. They continued in silence, except for the chatter from the group of fifty people ahead of them, and the river flowing next to them. The rounded a corner and saw the mountain range ahead of them, the mountains starting to tower over them. At the point where the River flowed into the mountains there was an old worn down fort, with the outer walls collapsing. It was build right on the river, with a cullies gate built over the river itself.

"This is the great stronghold?" Antonio said, eyebrow raised, "I always thought it would be like the main fort at Saffron City, like all large and made of Marble."

"Well, that would be too obvious," Liz said, rolling her eyes, "If you notice what's on the mountain behind the fort, then you might get to know why it is a strong hold."

Xan and Antonio looked up at the mountain. It looked like any other Mountain there, apart from this one had a single feature the others didn't at the base of it; A cave entrance.

"So we're going to be living in caves now?" Xan asked, raising an eyebrow at Antonio. Antonio shuddered slightly, and his Pikachu gave him a confused look.

"Only until the Aura Council decides where out next camp should be," Liz sighed, "So for the next few months we'll be living here."

"Oh woopie," Antonio said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Then why are we heading to the old Fort?" Xan asked,

"Because that's the only way in," Liz sighed, "Didn't you two pay any attention during theory?"

"Nope," Xan said proudly, "I learnt absolute Nada from it."

"I'm surprised Symon let you take the exam then," A voice said from behind them. The three spun around to see Aqua, Arthur and Alexander standing behind them. They all had their hoods of their black cloaks down, showing their face features.

Aqua had sky blue hair all the way down to her shoulders, which curled out slightly at the bottom, showing her elfish face and deep green eyes. She had silvery chest plate with silver knee and elbow protection over her bare skin, wearing a dark blue tank top and shorts.

Arthur was a towering man of 6"6' with a muscular body, with long brown hair pulled back and growing down. His face was covered in scars of battles past, and he carried his Claymore Sword on his back. He had his arms crossed over his chest, which had only a tight black short sleeved shirt on it, his legs covered with some baggy Brown trousers. His bulk frame seemed to cause fear in everyone.

Alexander was of a smaller build in height and muscle, but was still rather well toned, with his short Blonde hair and grey-blue eyes, he had the build of a speedy athletic, and wore a Navy Blue top with hood, along with black trousers.

"We heard your arguing from the old camp above the commotion," Arthur grunted in a deep, gravelly voice, "And we thought it was you three."

"Sorry Sir," Liz, Antonio and Xan replied.

"Never mind that," Alexander said, waving the subject away, "We're here to talk about your exam. We have discussed it amongst ourselves, and have decided that with the way you controlled the situation and held your ground against the New World Council Soldiers, we are happy to recommend you to all become Guardians." He said with a smile.

"Told you," Liz muttered to Xan, but Xan was too busy smiling and living in the moment to hear. Finally, they were going to be Aura guardians.

"However," Aqua said in a tone that brought him back down to earth, "There is one small bone we would like to pick with you. When you are given Orders from Superiors, you follow them out there and then. You do not question them, is that understood people?" Antonio, Xan and Liz all nodded their heads.

"Alright, the rest shall be discussed later amongst the Council," Arthur said in his deep voice, "You three better get some sleep after settling the others down."

"Yes sir," The three teenagers said, and they ran off toward the cave entrance.

Once they were out of earshot, the Alpha Cult turned to each other.

"So, I'm guessing the signs were telling the truth," Aqua said quietly, "Those are the Chosen three."

"But they're just kids," Arthur growled, cracking his knuckles, "Why couldn't it be us who were chosen?"

"I have no idea," Aqua replied, watching the three teens chatter to the other Aura guardians, "But the council will make the right decision."

"They're going to split them apart," Alexander said in a dark tone, his head bowed, "It's so they have time to make sure they're loyal to the code before they unlock their power and use to push out the New World Council. It's not going to be pretty their Auras are too intermingled already."

"Let's just hope they're up for it when the time comes," Arthur growled.

"For the moment, hope is the only thing we have," Aqua muttered quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

Three weeks passed as Xan, Antonio and Liz lived in the Indigo stronghold. Living in caves deep under a mountain unnerved Xan slightly. He was always used to sleeping under a thin roof of leaves with the night sky above him, not a whole geographical feature being held up above his head by a few wooden beams. But he got used to it, and the cave he was sharing with Antonio and Liz wasn't that far from the exit. Antonio was having a rough time in the caves as he was claustrophobic slightly, and Liz just missed the freedom of the forest.

The Pokémon seemed to be affected too. Infernape became dulled down, and not pulling as many practical jokes as normal, whilst Lucario seemed to spend most of the days meditating. Having not gained the title of Aura Guardian yet, there was little the three friends could do apart from helping out with the cave.

The cave system was huge, with about a thousand Aura Guardians living in it with their Pokémon, and the system still felt empty. Each area of the system were for specific people; the Aura Guardians had the front to protect the cave entrance, the woman and children had the centre of the cave systems to have maximum protection, whilst the further caves held the Aura Council members and Cult leaders, whilst beyond that was storage of food, money, cloth and weapons.

"Damn these caves!" Antonio yelled out loud as he sat bolt upright from his hammock. His shout caused Xan to wake with a start. His instincts took over and he was out of his hammock and on the floor, his dagger out and in his hand.

"What's going on?" Xan asked, looking around, expecting to see intruders charging into the cavern which was their home.

"Nothing, you hyperactive idiot," Antonio muttered, as he rubbed his bed hair, "You're always on edge, can't you just learn to relax?"

"I am relaxed," Xan said, his eyes still darting around the sign of an intruder and he continued to hold is Dagger backhand, "This is the most relaxed I've ever been."

"Yeah right," Antonio muttered as he slid out of his Hammock and changed into his day clothes, "I need some air, I can't handle these caves anymore."

"I'll be right behind you," Xan said, still feeling very jumpy, "I think they're starting to play tricks on my mind." Antonio rolled his eyes at the comment. It wasn't like the two of them to be like this. Antonio was normally a lot more tolerant, and Xan was the most relaxed person of the group. It was almost if these caves were changing them into their opposites.

The two boys made their way out of the cave system, and after a quick chat with the Aura Guardians in duty, they slipped out under the clear night sky.

"What's the time anyway?" Antonio asked Xan as the climbed down the mountain toward the valley below. Antonio's Pikachu and Gallade had joined them along with Xan's Lucario and Infernape having seen them walking out past the entrance to their respective caves.

"Well, I'm guessing some time after midnight," Xan said, "because have you ever heard the forest this quiet? Even the night dwellers have hit the rack."

The group reached the valley and continued in silence until they reached the banks of the crystal clear river at the bottom, all of them enjoying the freedom of the forest. It seemed to increase everyone's spirits, as Antonio began to become less crabby by the minute, and Xan began to feel himself relaxing to his normal state, which was on the border line of Relaxed and Lazy.

"I was wondering," Antonio said suddenly after a long time of star gazing, which had been interrupted by Infernape finally making Gallade snap after taunting him for so long, and the two teenagers had to step in to calm them both down, "How much longer do we have to stay in those damn caves?"

"I don't know," Xan sighed, resting back on the grass and staring at the full moon above them, "I'm guessing until they figure out the next best place to set up camp."

"Maybe Liz was right," Antonio said out loud suddenly. Xan looked over at him, an eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean?"

"That we, us, the Aura Guardians are on the way out," Antonio sighed, "Every great civilization has to fall, I mean look at the Romans and the Greeks; massive empires and then they fell."

"But we're not a civilization," Xan said, looking back at the sky, "We're the connection between the three 'elements' of the world; Nature, Pokémon and Man. We're like the stabilizing pole like in a large tent; take us away, and the world collapses. Haven't you noticed that with each passing year as more and more of us are hunted down, the environment is getting harsher and harsher, that Pokémon are now starting to become withdrawn and more violent, with them even starting to attack humans without reason, and that Mankind is becoming more and more bent on wiping us Aura Guardians out?"

"Wow, since when were you good at this thinking stuff?" Antonio chuckled, "You sound like Liz back there."

"Did not," Xan retorted, "I know about it because I'm observant."

"Come on Xan," Antonio said, propping himself up on his elbows, "No one, even you, is that observant, not even a Keen eyed Ferrow."

Xan remained silent. Truth be told, he didn't know how he knew it, he just had a gut feeling that all these things were connected, and the fact that they were constantly told that the Aura Guardians were the connection between everything, it seemed logical that this was the explanation.

Suddenly there was a column of flame that shot through the night sky, up towards the moon. Xan and Antonio leapt to their feet and looked around.

"That flame looks familiar," Xan said, feeling a pulse of friendly Aura from the direction of the flame column.

"All fire looks the same," Antonio growled as his Pikachu and Gallade came over to him, positioning themselves into attack stances.

"No, that pulse of Aura," Xan said. His Lucario and Infernape made their way over.

"Master," Lucario's voice said inside his head, "I've scanned the area, and there are no Hostiles in the vicinity."

"Dude," Infernape sighed, "You don't need to call him master. He is your buddy you know."

"He can call me Master if he wishes to," Xan cut in quickly as he saw a flame of aggression flicker in Lucario's eyes, "He's just being respectful."

"Plan of action?" Antonio called out loud as another column of fire ripped through the sky.

"We investigate." Xan replied, and ran off downstream toward the source.

"Alright Ninetales, that's enough!" Liz called out and Ninetales stopped its flamethrower attack into the night sky. It lowered its cream head to look at Liz with its red eyes, the moon causing its fur to become almost silver. Sceptile was at the edge of the clearing, dozing off against a tree.

Liz had needed to escape the closed feeling of the cave. She had snuck past the guards with Ninetales and Sceptile for a bit of late night training, and had felt the raw excitement as the wind blew against her face as she made her way down the mountain.

The training had gone well; she had successfully blocked all of Sceptile's moves, and she had managed to absorb so much flamethrower that she wouldn't be surprised if her aura was permanently red now. She sat down on a rock in the middle of the clearing and looked into the night sky, trying to count all of the stars up there. She only looked down when Ninetales settled down next to her, and Sceptile joined them.

"You know guys," Liz said softly, "I wish we could be like the stars, they seem to have the ultimate freedom." They continued to look into the sky, with Ninetales nuzzling her slightly. Suddenly a flicker of movement caught her eye. She turned her head to the part of the sky where she thought she had seen the shadow, but saw nothing.

Suddenly Ninetales was up and growling, with Sceptile extending his leafblades.

"Intruders," Sceptile growled,

"Heading from the north, running speed," Ninetales growled, pointing her head in that direction, "Their scent is on the wind."

Liz stood up and prepared herself to pulse her aura, but there was no need, because a figure tripped over a low bush and slid on its face up to her feet.

"Call yourself an Assassin," Liz giggled as she pulled Xan to his feet, his front and face covered with mud and grass stains.

"I would have been fine if it wasn't for that bush," he was cut off in mid sentence as two more shadows crashed down on top of him. Liz leapt back slightly and then realised it was Lucario and Infernape, both of them trying to pull Xan back up.

"You know," Xan said to the two Pokémon, "If I'm in a dangerous situation, don't try to rescue me." Infernape laughed and Lucario simply grunted as they pulled him up. Ninetales gave the three intruders a hard stare, whilst Sceptile shook his head sadly. Infernape saw Ninetales looking and gave her his normal jokester grin.

"Xan!" another voice yelled out from the forest, and Antonio appeared, followed by Gallade and Pikachu, "you okay? What happened?" he asked as he say Xan standing between Lucario and Infernape with a mud covered front.

"Tripped," Xan muttered quietly, "Anyway, was that you producing that column of fire just now Liz?"

"Well, it was Ninetales actually," Liz said, "Just a bit of late night training really."

Suddenly there was a burst of flames in the direction of Infernape, and the Pokémon dodged out of the way. He glared over at Ninetales, who was now on her feet and growling at him.

"Jees, whats wrong with her," Infernape mumbled, "All I did was smile at her,"

"You obviously have the way with the ladies," Lucario chuckled,

"Shut up," Infernape growled.

"Ninetales, what was that for," Liz and Xan said at the same time. The Pokémon remained silent and just continued to glare at Infernape.

"She could just want a battle," Antonio shrugged his shoulders, "I'd love to see that actually, fire verses fire, what a showdown!"

"You up for that Infernape?" Xan asked, and Infernape grinned at him

"I was born ready"

"How about you Liz and Ninetales," Xan asked, "You recon you can try and take us down?"

"What do you mean try," Liz called back, "We will take you down!"

The two humans ran to either end of the clearing, and turned to face each other. Infernape stood in his offense position, the fire on his head large and intense. Ninetales took a intimidating stance in front of Liz, her nine tails fluffed out to the max and raised out behind her like a fan, obscuring Liz from view.

"Looks like I'm going to be the judge here," Antonio sighed and stepped forward, "This is a one on one Pokémon Battle, no substitutes. And begin."

"Alright Infernape, lets show her what skills we've been learning," Xan said with a smirk, his hair falling so it covered his eyes with shadow. Infernape aknowlaged with a short nod. "Remember, the Aura is with you."

"Lets get this moving," Liz said calmly, "Ninetales, Flamethrower please." A large trunk of flame shot toward Infernape.

"Wait for it," Xan said quietly, watching the fire shoot towards them, "Wait for the moment, Alright, Now! Mach punch into close combat, let's go!" Xan yelled and Infernape disappeared from view into a blur as he shot towards Ninetales with a flowing fist, using it to split the flamethrower around him. He reached her in seconds, and was soon using close combat, the blows lightening fast from the speed of the mach punch.

"Upper cut at the end," Xan called out, and Infernape obeyed and Ninetales was sent flying into the air with a swift and powerful blow under her jaw. This strategy prevented any counter-attacks at close range when Infernape would be left wide open.

"Ninetales!" Liz called out, "Iron tail on the fall," Ninetales brought herself over in a flip and all her tails suddenly glowed with the Iron tail.

"Flamethrower," Xan said calmly, and Infernape responded with a white hot flamethrower, hitting Ninetales' tail. It began to glow red as it cut through the flame, but Ninetales was losing speed on the fall. As soon as the iron tail was about to hit Infernape on the head, Ninetales broke off the attack, the iron tail becoming too hot for her to handle.

"And time out," Antonio called from the side. Xan and Liz looked over to see him walking towards them with the other Pokémon.

"Aw, come on ref," Xan said, holding up his hands, "I was about to win this!"

"Exactly," Antonio said, "Thus why should we have an injury just to gain a pointless victory?"

"Wow, since when did you get smart?" Liz asked, looking up from checking Ninetales injuries.

"He didn't," Xan replied as Infernape and Lucario began talking to each other about Infernape's performance, "he got that from the teacher. But it does still hold truth. We need these guys to be in top condition. We should be getting a mission any day soon."

"You wish," Liz said, "We've been here for ages, and nothing has happened, nothing. Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever get accepted as Aura Guardians."

"We will," Xan said, looking over at her, "It's Aura law; we've passed the test, and now we must be given the rank of Guardian. They're probably just seeing where it is best to send us."

"Great deduction," A voice came from behind them. They spun to see a tall and very muscular man with his face hidden under a cloak and hood walking out of the forest towards them.

"I'm Charles," He said in a very deep but clear Southern English accent, "I have been sent by the council to give you your assignment. I see you are still keeping in fighting conditions." He nodded toward the scarred earth where the attacks from the Pokémon battle had hit the ground. "I must ask you to come with me now, as it is a most important mission, and we wouldn't want the details getting in the wrong hands."


End file.
